China food safety efforts

China will spend 8.8 bil. yuan ($1.1 bil.) during the next three to five years to strengthen food and drug oversight and infrastructure, China's State Food and Drug Administration Spokeswoman Yan Jiangying said during a press conference in Beijing Aug. 8. Approximately 6.3 bil. yuan ($790 mil.) will be funded by the central government for initiatives in Western and Central China, while the rest will come from local governments in Eastern China, she added. On May 24, SFDA announced the "2007 National Plan of Special Rectification of Food Safety" to improve the safety of food eaten in China and exported food (1"The Tan Sheet" June 4, 2007, p. 12). In other safety news, Yan noted SFDA has released a list of Web sites that may legally sell drugs online, including four retail sites authorized to sell nonprescription drugs to consumers...